FE WEEK10 @FEWEEK MONDAY, JULY 6, 2015

ADRIAN CANNING, 20 — Electrical installation Northern Ireland (region) North West Regional College (provider) — AC Electronics (employer)

DANIEL LEVINGS, 19 — Web design South EastHighbury College Portsmouth

DANNY HOANG, 21 — Cooking South East Westminster Kingsway College — Colette’s, The Grove Hotel

DOMINIC TREES, 19 —Manufacturing team challenge Yorkshire and the Humber Bradford College — CarnaudMetalBox Engineering

EDWARD HARRINGMAN, 21 — Cabinet making South East Chichester College — Harringman Cabinet Making

ELENI CONSTANTINOU, 21 —Hairdressing Wales Tino Constantinou

ELIJAH SUMNER, 20 — Auto tech Wales ProVQ — Halfords Autocentre

GARY DOYLE, 20 — Plumbing and heating Northern Ireland Southern Regional College — Kieran Trainor Plumbing and Heating

HARLEY BRIAN, 20 — Sheet metal technology West Midlands KMF

HAYLEY EDWARDS, 18 — Health and social care North East Middlesbrough College

JASMINE FIELD, 19 — Visual merchandising and window dressing South East Fashion Retail Academy — Marks & Spencer

ALEX ELTON, 20 — CNC turning West Midlands North Warwickshire and Hinckley College — Clamonta

ANDREW BEEL, 21 — Mechanical engineering CAD ScotlandNew College Lanarkshire — Pacson Valves

ANDY SMITH, 21 — MechatronicsNorth West Toyota Manufacturing UK (employer provider)

BALINT BOGDAN, 22 — Industrial electronics Northern Ireland Belfast Metropolitan College

BEN PRITCHARD, 20 — Jewellery East of England The Goldsmiths’ Company — Emson Haig

CHRIS RENWICK, 20 — Manufacturing team challengeYorkshire and the HumberLeeds City College — CarnaudMetalBox Engineering

CHRISTOPHER BAILIE, 20 — Refrigeration and air conditioning Northern Ireland South Eastern Regional College — BL Refrigeration and AC Limited

CHRISTOPHER HANSON, 20 — Construction metal work Yorkshire and the Humber City Training Bradford — Richard Allan Engineering

CURTIS BAKER, 19 — Painting and decorating Yorkshire and the HumberDoncaster College — Togel Contractors

DALE HODGINS, 22 — Joinery South East OCVC — Oakleigh Joinery

The clock is well and truly ticking with 880 hours to go before the UK’s top apprentices jet off to Brazil to take on the best of the rest at WorldSkills 2015 — and FE Week and City & Guilds want to wish them all the very best in the quest for golden glory.

Yes, in 37 days Team UK will be in São Paulo to find out whether all their hard work and training has paid off and if they’ve got what it takes to be crowned best young person in the world for their skill.

Our 41 young men and women (all pictured below) will compete in 38 different skills, from hairdressing and stone masonry to confectionery and IT security from August 11 to 16 (that’s just 53,280 minutes away, by the way).

As the pressure mounts, the UK’s official delegate and chief executive of the Skills Funding Agency and the Education Funding Agency, Peter Lauener also wished the competitors good luck in their final preparations.

“Representing your country on the world stage is no easy feat. It takes hard work, determination and a high level of skill,” he said.

“As part of Team UK, you have displayed all of these attributes.

“As you now go on to take part in the WorldSkills

Clock ticks down to start of Team UK’s Brazilian WorldSkills adventure

finals in São Paulo, you will need to draw on every aspect of your training and experience to be the best you can.

“Best of luck to everyone in the UK team — I look forward to seeing a number of UK medal winners.”

Our competitors will be among 1,230 from more than 60 countries, taking part in 50 different vocational skills. They will be looking to repeat, or even better, the successes of WorldSkills 2013, in Leipzig, Germany, where Team UK finished tenth in

the medals table with two gold, one silver and three bronze, along with a whopping 17 medallions for excellence (handed out when competitors reach a set international standard).

And David Cragg, deputy chair of WorldSkills UK organisers Find a Future, also offered his best wishes to our 2015 crop.

He said: “I would like to offer my congratulations to every member of Team UK.

“They are ambassadors for our nation and I wish

11FEWEEK.CO.UK EDITION 144 MONDAY, JULY 6, 2015

Clock ticks down to start of Team UK’s Brazilian WorldSkills adventure

JONATHAN GILL, 20 — Landscape gardening Northern Ireland CAFRE — Jonathan Gill Landscapes

REBECCA WILSON, 22 — Car painting Northern IrelandRiverpark Training — CM Accident Repair Centre

Reece Taylor, 22 — WeldingNorth EastDerwentside College — Dyer Engineering

RIANNE CHESTER, 22 — Beauty therapy North WestWarrington Collegiate — Beauty by Rianne

RICHARD MILLER, 20 — IT network administration ScotlandNew College Lanarkshire

ROBERT JOHNSON, 22 — Plastering and dry wall systems North EastRedcar and Cleveland College — Classic Plaster Moulds

ROBYN CLARKE, 22 — MechatronicsNorth WestToyota Manufacturing UK (employer provider)

RYAN JONES, 20 — Autobody repairEast MidlandsAuto Restore (employer provider)

RYAN STEVENS, 20 — Bricklayng West MidlandsShrewsbury College — Craig Chatwood Building Contractors

SAM TURNER, 19 — Architectural stonemasonry Yorkshire and the HumberYork College — The Dean and Chapter of York Minster

SHAYNE HADLAND, 23 — Aircraft maintenance South EastRAF Cosford — RAF Benson

LOUISA COOPER, 21 — Floristry West Midlands South Staffordshire College — School Farm Shop

LUCY JONES, 21 — Restaurant service South West Brockenhurst College — Chewton Glen Hotel & Spa

LUKE ELSMORE, 20 — Industrial control WalesUniversity of South Wales — Industrial Automation and Control

MARTIN MCLAUGHLIN, 18 — Wall and floor tiling Northern IrelandNorth West Regional College — Limavady Borough Council

MATTHEW BEESLEY, 21 — Landscape gardening North WestReaseheath College — Beesley Landscapes

MICHAEL WATSON, 21 — CNC milling South WestCity of Bristol College — GKN Aerospace

MIKAELA WRIGHT, 21 — Patisserie and confectioneryScotlandCity of Glasgow College

OWAIN JONES, 21 — Carpentry WalesColeg Meirion Dwyfor — Self-employed

PATRICK DEVANNEY, 20 — Manufacturing team challenge Yorkshire and the Humber Bradford College — CarnaudMetalBox Engineering

them the best of luck as they prepare to compete against the best in the world.”

The event will be staged five kilometres from the centre of Sao Paulo at Anhembi Parque, which at 400,000 square feet is one of the largest event centres in Latin America.

And it won’t just be the competitors and their

trainers who are flocking to Anhembi Parque, as 800 volunteers are expected to help keep the show on the road, along with 200,000 visitors — the largest audience in WorldSkills history.

Mr Cragg said it was hoped the competition would inspire more young people to take a vocational route.

“Skills competitions showcase the high levels of

performance that can be achieved by individuals and organisations through high quality further education, skills training and apprenticeships,” he said.

“Through skills competitions and the wider work of Find a Future we want to provide every young person with the chance to unlock their potential and get excited about the world of work.”

You can keep up to date with every moment of Team UK’s

journey to the São Paul podium (it’s going to happen!!),

thanks to FE Week.

We’ve already followed them from squad selection, through

their intensive training and the medal glory of EuroSkills

competition to finding out who was going all the way to

Brazil.

Now we’ll be accompanying them for every step of the last,

and toughest leg of their journey, from preparation and the

flight there, to the opening ceremony, the gruelling tension

of the competition and the celebrations at the prizegiving.

You’ll find all the action on www.feweek.co.uk and Twitter,

by following @FEWeek.